Kentforlife email will close in July

We are sorry to announce that the Kentforlife email service will close on 31 July 2019. Most current staff or students won’t be affected as the Kentforlife service is for alumni and former staff.

Why is it closing?

We’ve offered the Kentforlife email service to Kent leavers for over 10 years. During that time usage has declined significantly. We’ve taken the difficult decision to close this service because it’s blocking us from providing a range of collaborative digital services to current students and staff.

Informing users

We’ve developed a University-wide communications plan, in conjunction with the Alumni Office and others, to ensure staff, students and alumni know how to prepare for this change.

6 responses to “Kentforlife email will close in July”

As others have said, this is a shame, especially for those of us who have been at the University for many years and who regard it with great affection. My mother studied (and then taught) at UKC before me: thus, I started off at the Day Oaks Nursery… and eventually graduated from SECL! UKC has always been a big part of my life, and I now take great pleasure in remaining an active alumnus: signed up to Kent Union as an associate member, participating in student societies and open lectures, paying to use the library, and generally supporting the University in any way that I can. For me, being able to spend quality time on campus with academically-minded people is something of a lifeline, and I am inclined to agree with John that this comes as something of a smack in the face to those of us who remain fond of the University, and are determined to support it as much as we can.

Although I can appreciate that you must provide this ‘Office’ thing, perhaps to remain up-to-date, I cannot help but wonder if this is the latest in a series of gestures based around restricting the University to current staff and students; the first being the implementation of turnstiles to the library, which make it significantly harder, though certainly not impossible, for ex-staff, emiritius staff, and alumni to access. I cannot help but wonder whether college dining facilities will eventually be withdrawn to anyone other than the current generation of ‘Kentians’, or even whether the whole campus may eventually become severely restricted, much like Oxbridge colleges.
Can you not just allow those who actively use it to retain their email address, or something similar?

The University of Kent is quite unusual in the perks that it offers its former staff and alumni, and please remember that many of us recall our time here with great fondness, and don’t see it as just an ex-workplace. Whilst I understand your rationale, I hope you can see that these little perks can mean quite a lot to many of us.

Dear George, we apologise for the inconvenience and upset this has caused. Unfortunately we are not able to allow retention of any KentforLife email accounts. The Alumni Office will be in touch with you in further response.

I can’t see this as anything but a betrayal and abandonment of those former students and staff who were promised a service for life. It will be a gross inconvenience for them and for anyone who has contact with them through kentforlife, and sever a valued contact with the University. Is this a way to retain loyalty? I have a successful PhD student now resident in Germany who has possibly terminal cancer for whom this is her only lifeline with the University: it seems that if kentfordeath would be a better slogan.

Dear John,
Thank you for your comments regarding the closure of Kentforlife and I am very sorry to hear about your student. We certainly don’t want to lose contact with our alumni and there are still many ways to get in contact with us. We’d be very happy to update yours and their records with new email addresses so that you both can stay in touch with us.

We are extremely sorry that we are having to close the Kentforlife service. When we set up the service 10 years ago, we intended to deliver it for life. However, in recent years there has been a very high demand for us to deliver Office 365 to our staff and students and there is no way to do this and keep the alumni email service running too. Due to the increasingly declining usage of the Kentforlife email service we have made this difficult decision. We appreciate that this may be a significant change for you.

The alumni team share your sadness at the loss of this service, but do hope you will not lose your relationship with your University. We’re always keen to connect with alumni on social media, and would be very happy to ensure that alumni receive KENT magazine if they would like it – you can update all of you details online, or contact alumni@kent.ac.uk with your information.

I’ve used this email address for 12 years 9 of them since I finished my undergraduate studies. As a supplier of IT you shouldn realise what a hassle it is to lose your primary email after all these years. There ought to be a migration plan and address translation. I will have to visit at least 50 organisations to modify my account details. No doubt some will be orphaned after July. Also there will be a knock on effect on everyone who contacts me via KentForLife. Have you considered offering a subscription service if the University is so strapped for cash?

Dear Colin,
Thank you for your comments about the closure of Kentforlife. We are extremely sorry that we are having to close it. When we set up the service 10 years ago, we intended to deliver it for life. However, in recent years there has been a very high demand for us to deliver Office 365 to our staff and students and there is no way to do this and keep the alumni email service running too. Due to the increasingly declining usage of the Kentforlife email service we have made this difficult decision. We appreciate that this may be a significant change for you.

A subscription service would not be possible due to the nature of how KentforLife is set up being incompatible with Office 365 services, going forward. Once again we are sorry for the inconvenience that this will cause you. If you require further information or assistance with this please email helpdesk@kent.ac.uk